A Whole New World
by SaiyaSith
Summary: With Bulma gone, and his children having moved on, what is a Saiyan to do? Where does Vegeta go from here? Is there anything left for him? *Minor language*
1. Chapter 1

A Whole New World 

By SaiyaSith © 2002

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Disclaimer: I am not Akira Toriyama, nor do I make money from this. I have nothing you could sue me for anyway…_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

The lone figure sat staring at the stars above. Although his features betrayed no emotion, the very air around him was charged with grief. _She was gone. His mate, his lover, his partner, his only friend had died. She was very old, and death did not creep upon her unexpectedly. With the dragonballs gone, there was no way to return her youth. The mighty Saiyan Prince who fought battles that could destroy planets was completely unable to win the war against old age. And so the brilliant Bulma Vegeta Briefs died on her 90th birthday._

The grieving Saiyan did not leave his rooftop perch until the gentle rays of sun began to gather on the horizon. Sunsets the man could tolerate--he had plenty of sunsets in his life--but sunrises were too painful. The Prince no longer had a reason to face each new day, and each sunrise was a mockery to him. It was a promise of that which could never be again. He was alone.

Silently he walked the darkened halls to his room. He sat on the bed and soaked in the smells that were uniquely Bulma's. Even after a week, they still lingered. The mighty Saiyan Prince, proud no more, laid down on his bed and wept himself to sleep.

________________________________________

"Trunks? How's papa? Have you seen him today?"  The voice on the phone was worried.

"Uh, actually I haven't." The man replied. "I had a meeting today with the Board of Directors and haven't gotten out to the old Capsule Corp grounds." 

"He hasn't shown his face outdoors at all since Momma's funeral. It's been a month! Aren't you even concerned about him?" The edge in the demi-Saiyan's voice was unmistakably inherited from her mother.

Trunks sighed. "Of course I'm worried about him, Bra. But you need to realize that things like this take time to heal. He'll be ok. He's too tough to stay down for long--you'll see."

"Damn it, Trunks!" The woman growled. "If Shin'i's baby wasn't due any day now, you know I would be there for him. Can't you at least try to spend some time with your own father?"

The President of Capsule Corporation shook his head. "Listen, I have a life too, you know. I have a family and a business to look after! Our dad can take care of himself without his children hovering over him." Trunk's jaw clenched and a hard look came into his eyes. "After all, Bra. He hasn't needed us before, so what in HFIL makes you think he wants our company NOW?"

Shocked silence and ragged breathing were all that could be heard from the other end of the line. After a painfully long pause, the line went dead.  
  


"KUSO!" In an uncharacteristic loss of control, Mr. Briefs ripped the phone from his desk and threw it out the window.

____________________________________

Later that evening in another part of the city, a lonely figure floated out to the rooftop to watch the sunset again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_End chapter One_

A/N: Shin'i is Bra's daughter. I doubt she'll play much of a part in this story, but I needed a good reason to explain why Bra couldn't be there for her dad. :-P  Notice that I deftly avoided the entire issue of who marries who!  The next chapter really gets into the whatzits of the story. Where does a Saiyan go from here? Tune in to Chapter two and find out!

Also, to those of you are awaiting the next chapter of Vegeta's Cat…it's mostly written, I'm trying to kill writer's block with this story! Thanks all! PS I love reviews! Who doesn't though?? J


	2. Chapter 2

A Whole New World 

© 2002 by SaiyaSith

_Disclaimer: DBZ is someone else's property. This is my homage to the creator. Don't sue me!_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The box was plain. There was nothing on it to signify that it held any treasure. But as the Saiyan Prince lifted the lid, he realized that what he held in his hands was priceless. He had found the box tucked away inside a capsule hidden in his mate's sock drawer. He didn't know what to expect when he found the small device, and after the puff of smoke had cleared, the sight of the simple white box confused him. Vegeta studied the exterior and noticed that the edges of the lid were well-worn as if it had been handled often. The man who had once feared nothing but Frieza, found himself shaking when he reached for the cover.

Inside the box lying on top was a memory book…_their memory book. Vegeta didn't even know Bulma had kept such a thing, but the box was filled with the book and many mementos of their years together. A small capsule labeled "diaries" sat next to one that held the title "pictures". Hot tears fell to the floor unnoticed as the Saiyan's hands slowly looked at the things inside. Rough hands gently turned the pages of the album. Early pictures of Vegeta's very first visit had been clipped from newspapers and glued into place. Curvy handwriting and tiny notes surrounded the photo. An arrow pointed to his tail and the phrase "nice ass" was highlighted. In spite of his grief, Vegeta smirked. __Had she found him attractive even then? He wondered. The next page was covered with hand-drawn sketches obviously done on notebook paper. Tiny representations of himself and his mate holding hands and other silly pictures were glued in place. Incredulously, the Saiyan noted that the dates on the pictures showed them to have been drawn a full two years __before his son was born! With a melancholy sigh he realized that her attraction had been one-sided at that point in time. He had been too obsessed with achieving the Legendary status to notice the god-send right under his nose._

Shaking off the depressing thoughts, he put the book on the side and looked through the rest of his treasure. A very old dragon radar, probably the one she used on Namek lay in a plastic cover. His finger slowly traced the contours of the device his woman had so ingeniously created. _She summoned the power of the dragon and used it for him. The pain in his heart at her loss flared again with the thought. Beside the dragon radar was a scrap of a shirt. Vegeta snorted when he realized that Bulma had saved a piece of the infamous "Badman" shirt. It was the first human thing he had worn. __How had she even found time to collect these things? He wondered. Numerous other objects sat alongside the capsule case that held…__three…capsules. Vegeta wondered at the third capsule that was strapped to the bottom of the case containing Bulma's diaries and picture collection. _

The strange capsule was unmarked except for a strange tear-shaped drawing in what appeared to be permanent marker on the side. It was not a standard CC item, so Vegeta could not tell if it was for storage or if it was a house or even a vehicle. A strange sensation came over him as he held the cool metal in his palm. It was a sense of…destiny, perhaps? The Saiyan wasn't sure, but he carefully replaced the items where he had found them. Tonight, for the first night in over a month, he was not going to watch the sunset. Vegeta decided to eat a hearty meal and spend the evening going through the things his wife had so lovingly left behind to comfort him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Once again, another short chapter. I hate posting them this short, but I feel under less pressure to write if I can just post what I've got when I write it. It makes for less writer's block that way, and thus quicker updates for you guys. Eventually, I may combine chapters to make them longer, but for now, I wanted to get this party started, if you know what I mean! Thanks for reading!!!


	3. Chapter 3

A Whole New World 

© 2002 SaiyaSith

_Disclaimer: Akira Toriyama created Dragonball & all its sundry characters. I'm just a fan paying tribute to the master…_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

A smirk played across the man's chiseled face as he recalled the events that took place in the photograph lying on the table. He remembered the island retreat and the glorious time he had spent there with his wife after the last battle with Majin Buu. The nights had been the best part: brilliant starscapes, incredible food (capsuled and catered, of course), and some of the best sex they had ever had. The smirk grew wider when he realized that it was on that vacation that Bra had been conceived. _Bulma, he thought towards the heavens, __I hope it was as pleasurable for you as it was for me._

The entire evening had been one of healing for the Saiyan prince. The dark shroud of despair and grief that had driven him half out of his mind seemed to lift a bit with each memory of his beloved "Woman". His stomach was full for the first time since her death. As the night progressed, he was able to remember more and more of their early times together. Vegeta was surprised at how much passion he had shared with his wife over the years. Thinking about her still brought an ache to his heart, but it was no longer a gaping wound. Vegeta was starting to heal.

The next morning, Vegeta decided to fire up the gravity room. It had been awhile since he had trained himself last, and he honestly had nothing else to do. He was on his way out the door, when he heard a vehicle approaching. He snorted in exasperation when he recognized his son's ki.  Trunks was greeted by the sight of his father leaning against the side of the house. "What do you want, boy?" The Saiyan sneered.

_He seems to be in a better mood. The younger man thought to himself. "Um, hello father." He replied. "Bra and I just wanted to check up on you…" Trunks wondered how his father still had the ability to make him feel five years old again even after all these years._

"Hn. As if the Prince of all Saiyans needs his brats to take care of him!" Vegeta's look was pure malice. Inwardly, he was grinning; he loved to torment his son.

Trunks stared at his father, unsure of what to say next. He suddenly realized that without his mother, he no longer had anything in common with the man that had given him life.

"Cat got your tongue, boy?" Vegeta mocked. At his son's odd expression, the man's face softened. "Trunks?" He said.

Shaken out of his musings by his father's question, Trunks locked eyes with his sire. He decided that the best way to deal with his father's unnerving scrutiny was to adopt the Saiyan's aloof style.  "I can't stay long. Is there anything you need?"

Vegeta studied his son. It had been a long time since they had spent any time together. There wasn't much that they both enjoyed doing. He decided to try to find some sort of common ground with his child. "I could use a sparring partner." He smirked and couldn't resist adding, "Not that you would be much of a challenge."

Trunks didn't know what to say. It had been years since he had worked out, much less sparred. His father's Saiyan blood made him fit, even in his 60's, but sparring? "Uh…I think I'm a little too old for that intense kind of workout, dad."

At the mention of age, a ragged shock of pain passed through Vegeta's face. When he first got involved with Bulma, he hadn't realized how short human life-spans were. As his mate was dying of old age, the Saiyan was just entering the prime of his adulthood. A sickening realization entered the older man's heart. _No man should outlive his children. Suddenly angry at the inevitability of his fate, he snapped: "Never mind!" and turned on his heel and headed back inside._

A bewildered Trunks slowly walked back to his aircar and headed home to his family. "I don't think I'll ever understand him…" He said to passing wind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

A/N: Another short chapter, I know. It's just so much easier to organize my thoughts this way and I update a whole lot faster when I'm going for content instead of length. I haven't forgotten about the capsule, either! That's next chapter…maybe!  ^.~   Hmm… also, thanks for the wonderful reviews! They're all really appreciated!!!

Also, I realize that Vegeta was a little OOC the last two chapters. It was my feeling that losing a mate of more than 60 years--especially one as vibrant as Bulma--would be nearly unbearable. Grieving people do weird stuff. I know if I lost my husband (I've been with him LITERALLY half my life now), I would go nuts. As the wound heals, though, people tend to get back to normal. I hope this explains why I wrote him that way! Thanks again for the reviews!


	4. Chapter 4

A Whole New World

© 2002 by SaiyaSith

_Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ…really!_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Broken furniture lay scattered across the living room floor as the only evidence of Vegeta's rant against fate. The Saiyan had thrown everything that had ever annoyed him into the walls in an effort to release some of his hostility. Destroying a planet would have been more pleasurable, but he knew that Bulma would have disapproved. Displaying temperance was Vegeta's way of honoring her memory.

After destroying the room, Vegeta felt up for lunch. He grunted as he pulled his catered food from the refrigerator. _I didn't eat this good when she was here…He quickly suppressed that train of thought and went about devouring the fifteen containers that had been delivered for lunch. He smirked and wondered if his daughter would be happy that he was finally making use of her thoughtful idea. The Saiyan's idea of cleaning up was to pile the used containers into a special bin outside the door and vaporize the pile with his ki. __Now, I think I have a few robots to destroy…Vegeta thought to himself. The dark-haired man flexed his arms and started stretching on his walk towards the door._

That night the Prince of all Saiyans started on his wife's diaries. He decided to read the last one first, to get an idea of what went through her head at the end of her life. He smirked when he saw that she chose to use the Saiyan yearly designation instead of Earth years. She had really loved him.

_Diary of Bulma Vegeta-Briefs: June 28, Saiyan Calendar 2202_

_Dear Diary,_

_I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. It seems like that's all I've been good for lately. I think It's time to give Vegeta his gift. It's been finished a while now, but I've just been too selfish to give it to him. I know that I'm not going to live forever, and I just want him with me to the end._

_He deserves this, though. After all he's given up for me, for our family. He deserves the chance to have this. I can't keep it from him any longer, diary. Tomorrow's my birthday, so I think I'll surprise him with a present._

Vegeta stopped and stared at those words for the longest time. She hadn't lived long enough to go to her party. She had simply passed on in her sleep and died in the early hours of her birthday. _What present?? What was she talking about?? He decided to look further back and search for answers._

_Diary of Bulma Vegeta-Briefs: January 15, Saiyan Calendar 2202_

_Dear Diary,_

_Well, the Project has been completed now for two months and I still don't have the courage to tell him about it. I know I've spent the last decade of my life working on it without telling him. It's just so hard to tell him. I don't know what he's going to think. Will he love it? Hate it? Hate me? Will he think I've totally lost my mind? I've got so much invested in this project emotionally that I don't think I could take it if he rejects my gift to him. I just don't. Maybe I'll get the courage soon to tell him._

Vegeta was more confused than ever. _What project?? What "gift"?? What was the Woman talking about?? __She had been hiding__ this from him for more than a DECADE? What was so important to her that she couldn't risk his rejection of it? The Saiyan realized that he needed to get to the bottom of this mystery before it drove him completely insane._

_Diary of Bulma Vegeta-Briefs: June 29, Saiyan Calendar 2201_

_Diary, _

_Today's my birthday. I am 89 years old! I can't believe it! I look older than Master Roshi now. Yeuch! At least Vegeta doesn't seem to mind. He is still as tender (in private) as he's always been. It does seem weird that he doesn't look a day older than when we met, but that's the way life goes sometimes. We're having a quiet party, just the gang and I. It'll be sad without Chi-Chi here this year. I can't believe she's really gone. Now her grandchildren carry on her legacy. Gohan even had her table photographed and the picture is framed and hanging in their living room. Not too many people understand, but I do. When the people you love are gone, you want to remember the happy times, the best times. I suppose they were all happiest at the table. Oh well. I wonder how people will remember me._

Silently, the Saiyan closed his eyes and took a moment to reign in his emotions. Rough hands flipped back a few more pages in the precious book.

_Diary of Bulma Vegeta-Briefs: March 15, Saiyan Calendar 2200_

_Dear Diary,_

_I DID IT!!! I finally got the last of the equations solved and the programming bugs fixed in the Project! I am so happy!!! All that I've got left to do is start outfitting the ship and work out a retrieval device. I wonder what would happen if…nevermind. I'm so glad I figured out the matrix! Now, how will I explain this to Vegeta?? I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now, I think I'm going to celebrate._

The man frowned. _Ship?__ What in HFIL **WAS that woman working on? He was more confused now than ever. Suddenly, he had a thought. He reached inside his pocket and pulled out his "treasure capsule". The smoke cleared with a poof, and was replaced by a box. Vegeta found what he was looking for: the strange capsule marked with a tear drop. **__Is this the Project that she kept talking about? He wondered. He decided to read more and try to find out what he was dealing with before opening up what might prove to be Pandora's Box._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

_A/N: Another chapter down, and this one a bit longer. I hoped you all liked it! Thanks for the reviews. I realize that the previous chapters have been horribly short. I promise to work on that for the future! Thanks a zillion for all the reviews and support! Off to start chapter 5…_


End file.
